THE prime suspects for the notorious Surjit Singh Chhokar murder were tracked down by the Sunday Mail yesterday – and ran away.

As the Indian waiter’s family appealed for the case to be reopened, Ronnie and Andrew Coulter refused to answer our questions about the killing.

We can reveal the family’s lawyer Aamer Anwar has written to Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC asking for the case to be opened again after changes to double jeopardy laws.

Referring to the recent conviction of two of the five men suspected of killing London teenager Stephen Lawrence, Anwar writes: “Just as in Stephen Lawrence’s case, the killers of Surjit Singh Chhokar should not rest easy in their beds.”

Ronnie Coulter, 43, and his nephew Andrew Coulter were tried for the 1998 murder. But the two cases collapsed in chaos as each of the men blamed the other.

A third suspect, David Montgomery, appeared in the dock alongside Andrew Coulter in 2000 when both men were found not guilty after blaming Ronnie Coulter .

Andrew Coulter, 30, now lives in a flat with mum Margaret just 100 yards from where Surjit was brutally stabbed to death.

Their ground-floor home in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, is round the corner from the spot in Garrion Street, Overtown, where the victim was attacked as he returned to his girlfriend’s home with a carry-out meal.

After being tracked down, Andrew Coulter went to extraordinary lengths to avoid being recognised. A hat and hood pulled tightly over his face, he hid behind fences and refused to answer questions.

Coulter’s mother snapped: “There will be absolutely nothing said. He has no comment to make.”

Despite being cleared in 2000, Andrew Coulter remains well-known locally. Neighbours were reluctant to speak about the family and friends protected Coulter as he attempted to hide from reporters.

One neighbour said: “Of course he’s well-known in the area because nobody who lived here at the time will ever forget that murder.

“But they are not a family you’d want to get on the wrong side of.

“Everybody here knows what happened but you won’t find many people wanting to talk about it.”

Andrew Coulter rarely ventures further than the council scheme where he’s lived since leaving jail in 2004 after another attack. Ronnie Coulter lives a mile away in a one-bedroom flat. He also refused to speak about the case.

He lives alone in the Waterloo area of Wishaw, having divorced his wife Nicola in 2010. He refused to open his front door to our reporters or make any comment.

A neighbour said: “Coulter keeps a very low profile but you see him out walking his dog every day.

“He keeps himself very much to himself. We all know around here who he is and the case he was involved in.”

On Tuesday, family lawyer Mr Anwar will announce a new appeal to the Lord Advocate at a press conference.

His letter states: “We are instructed to write to you by members of the Chhokar family in relation to the murder of Surjit Singh Chhokar in November 1998.

“As you will be aware, they have requested a reopening of the investigation with a view to prosecuting the killers if new evidence or other relevant matters were to come to light.

“We understand that a second trial can take place where ‘compelling new evidence emerges to substantially strengthen the case against the accused’ but that a second trial may also be allowed to proceed where there is evidence that the first trial was ‘tainted’. We also note that if after acquittal, the accused admits to having committed the offence, the Crown Office will be permitted to have a second trial.

“We submit that all of the above may apply in the murder of Surjit Singh Chhokar.”

It adds: “We believe that there must be individuals who saw what happened that night. Either through fear or some other reason they failed to come forward.

“Thirteen years later, these individuals may be the key but if the Crown Office and police do not offer the window of opportunity then we will never know.

“We would request the Crown Office consider instructing Strathclyde Police to launch a public appeal in partnership with the family for witnesses to come forward.

“Just as in Stephen Lawrence’s case, the killers of Surjit Singh Chhokar should not rest easy in their beds.

“We also request a meeting with yourself and the Solicitor General if possible within the next week. The family would be happy to meet at the Crown Office.”

Under the new double jeopardy law, the Crown Office would still be required to come up with new evidence to bring any of the three to trial.

Andrew Coulter has been told that his conviction for assaulting Surjit after being cleared of his murder in 2000 would make it difficult to retry him. He was jailed for a year for the assault.

After his murder trial, Montgomery moved in with Andrew Coulter’s sister Rhona in Wishaw but the couple later split, although they have an 11-year-old daughter.

Montgomery later set up home in nearby Newarthill with another woman, with whom he had two children, but they separated six months ago.

In 1999, Ronnie Coulter went on trial charged with murder but he was acquitted after he blamed the other two men.

When Andrew Coulter and Montgomery placed the blame back at Ronnie Coulter’s feet during their trial the following year, they were acquitted too.

He claimed police had failed to consider race as a factor in the murder, said the police and the fiscal’s office were ignorant of Sikh funeral customs and the Crown Office failed to accommodate Surjit’s father’s need for a translator.

Another report by Sir Anthony Campbell looked at the way prosecution decisions were made. He said racist attitudes did not affect the decisions made during the trial

He criticised the Crown for prosecuting Ronnie Coulter alone and said Andrew Coulter should have been a co-accused.

His recommendations included reviewing prosecution systems for High Court matters and ensuring the responsibility for prosecution right through to trial.

He also highlighted a need for more staff and better communication.

The Chhokar scandal led to a row between then Lord Advocate Lord Hardie and trial judge Lord McCluskey.

Lord McCluskey, now retired, criticised the “extraordinary” decision to initially put only one man on trial.